Coastal Carolina University students should not have to risk their lives simply to cross S.C. Highway 544.

Highway 544 runs alongside the CCU campus, residence halls and nearby student housing. Across this busy, multi-lane highway are restaurants, businesses and services regularly used by students.

Yet protected pedestrian crossings are not conveniently available everywhere students are actually crossing.

There is a proven safety solution that deserves immediate consideration: HAWK pedestrian crossings.

A HAWK (High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk), also known as a Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon, provides pedestrians with a protected crossing while allowing traffic to flow normally when no pedestrian is present.

We are asking SCDOT to evaluate and fast-track HAWK crossings at appropriate locations along Highway 544 near CCU, with immediate attention to the area near Elvington Loop.

This is not a new problem.

CCU students have been killed while crossing Highway 544 since at least 2012, with other students suffering serious injuries.

Following the most recent crash, on August 16, 2026, which claimed the life of a CCU student and seriously injured another, this corridor cannot wait years for additional safety improvements.

Students are crossing Highway 544 today. They will be crossing it tonight. They need protection now.

Existing crossings are not enough to protect the entire Highway 544 corridor.

There is already tremendous community support for improving pedestrian safety near CCU. This petition supports those efforts while asking officials to evaluate where students are actually crossing Highway 544 and whether additional protected crossings are needed, particularly near Elvington Loop.

We support the planned pedestrian overpass at Founders Drive. But one overpass cannot address every location where students currently need to cross Highway 544.

Students live, walk and travel throughout this corridor. Safety improvements should be evaluated where students are actually crossing, particularly where housing, businesses and services create significant pedestrian demand.

Immediate attention should be given to the area near Elvington Loop, where the most recent tragedy occurred.

Why HAWK?

A HAWK remains inactive until a pedestrian needs to cross. Once activated, motorists receive a red signal requiring them to stop while pedestrians use a marked crosswalk. When the crossing is complete, traffic resumes.

The Federal Highway Administration identifies pedestrian hybrid beacons as a proven safety countermeasure, with research showing a 55% reduction in pedestrian crashes.

Safer when needed. Flow when not.

The planned Founders Drive pedestrian overpass has been reported as a $12 million project. We support that investment, but additional protected crossings should not require another multimillion-dollar bridge at every location.

HAWK crossings could provide a significantly less costly safety improvement at appropriate locations while minimizing unnecessary disruption to Highway 544 traffic.

CCU is taking steps but more is needed

We appreciate CCU’s additional lighting, pedestrian-safety signage, increased patrols and safety education, as well as its work with SCDOT on a Highway 544 Traffic Safety Action Plan.

These are important measures, but they do not provide pedestrians with a protected way to cross a multi-lane highway.

Infrastructure must be part of the solution.

We are asking SCDOT, Coastal Carolina University, Horry County and other responsible officials to:

• Immediately evaluate the Highway 544 corridor surrounding CCU for additional protected pedestrian crossings.
• Conduct HAWK feasibility assessments at appropriate locations, with immediate attention to the area near Elvington Loop.
• Fast-track HAWK pedestrian hybrid beacons, marked crosswalks, appropriate lighting and related safety infrastructure where engineering requirements are met.
• Where HAWK is not appropriate, identify another effective protected pedestrian-crossing solution.
• Include these evaluations in the Highway 544 Traffic Safety Action Plan and provide the CCU community with a public timeline for action.

The CCU community should not have to wait for another student to be seriously injured or killed before additional protected crossings are provided.

No parent should receive a phone call telling them their child was struck while crossing a highway just steps from the campus they call home.

Long-term progress does not eliminate today’s danger.

Build the overpass at Founders Drive.

Bring HAWK crossings to Highway 544 where engineering requirements are met.

Address the area near Elvington Loop NOW.

CCU students should not have to wait for another tragedy.